Farewell to Body Painting Day in New York
New York’s Legendary Body Painting Festival Has Gone Down in History! Here’s the Story Behind the Final Dance…
One of New York’s most colorful and creative street art events, Body Painting Day, has been immortalized in memory after its spectacular finale in 2023. This event, which has been the most vibrant gathering on the city’s cultural and artistic calendar for over a decade, has come to a close. So why did this magical festival, which transformed New York into an open-air art gallery, come to an end? Here’s the story behind the scenes…
If you’ve ever imagined standing naked among hundreds of strangers in New York while artists transform your body into a work of art, you may have missed your chance. Sunday’s Bodypainting Day was held for the last time after more than a decade of artists transforming naked bodies into works of art.”
The Final Performance: A City’s Colorful Farewell
The final event, held in the heart of Manhattan in the summer of 2023, turned into a true art extravaganza. Many talented artists transformed volunteer models into living paintings. The final performance, held at sunset in Central Park, offered spectators an unforgettable visual feast. Elena Rodriguez, one of the event’s veteran organizers, shared her feelings, saying, “In this final gathering, we wanted to crown our ten-year legacy in the most beautiful way possible.”
[ Andy Golub, an artist and free speech activist who has been painting nude models since 2007, launched a traditional body painting event in New York to emphasize that nudity for artistic purposes is legal. ] photo by Engin Tufan Sevimli © New York | 2023
Why Did It End?
While no official reason was given, according to art circles, the sharp decline in sponsorship revenues after the pandemic and the city’s new regulations for outdoor events are among the main reasons for the event’s end. Additionally, the withdrawal of the main sponsor and the dissolution of the organizing team were other factors contributing to the end of this colorful tradition.
The Legacy Left Behind
Body Painting Day went beyond being just an event over the course of eleven years, becoming a movement that added color to New York’s cultural fabric. The event, which hosted hundreds of artists from 38 different countries, pioneered the global recognition of the “temporary art” movement. Its inclusion in UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” candidate list in 2017 was the greatest proof of how important this festival was.
The Hope of a Digital Archive
The organizers announced that they were working on a project to bring this colorful heritage into the digital world. The platform, titled “Body Painting Day Digital Archive,” will feature the most striking works from the past eleven years, artist interviews, and documentary content. While an announcement in 2023 stated that the project was aimed to be completed by early 2025, no concrete updates have been shared so far.
What Does New York’s Art World Say?
Michael Donovan, President of the New York Arts Council, said, “This kind of street art reflects the spirit of the city. We are working on new projects to fill the void left by Body Painting Day,” while art critic Julia Chen offered hope, saying, “This is not an end, but perhaps a new beginning.”
And a Quiet Farewell…
Now, all that remains are the photographs of human paintings posing in front of New York’s skyscrapers and the memories of those who experienced this magical event. Perhaps one day, this colorful celebration will be reborn in a different form. But for now, it will continue to live on in the hearts of art lovers as a vibrant memory…
If you’ve ever imagined standing naked among hundreds of strangers in New York while artists transform your body into a work of art, you may have missed your chance.
Golub, an artist and free speech activist who’s been painting on nude models since 2007, started the annual body painting extravaganza to underscore that nudity for artistic purposes is legal in New York City.
That hasn’t stopped police from trying to halt the event. In 2011, Golub said, he and two models were arrested and detained for 24 hours, but the charges were dropped once authorities determined they were doing nothing illegal.
“You’ll find there’s a lot of people that have been really impacted positively,” Golub said. “Mostly models, but also artists, and feeling that they’ve come out of their skin. And it’s just been like a really positive experience of really celebrating freedom.”
New York © Engin Tufan Sevimli & Turkish Life Magazine | All Rights Reserved | Photos by Engin Tufan Sevimli
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